Greer will be a designated stop for dinner on Thursday Aug. 30 to add to lunch scheduled on Saturday Sept. 1. The ZFest is held annually over the Labor Day holidays. Next year’s event is Aug. 30 – Sept. 2.
“It’s a true homecoming,” Perry said, referencing Greer, where the BMW Manufacturing Co. first began producing the BMW Z3 and Z4 Roadsters. “They had such a wonderful experience here.”
When BMW Manufacturing stopped assembling the sports cars, the ZFest was held in Germany and different regions of the U.S. David Weeks organized last year’s return of ZFest to the upstate.
“Several car clubs found Greer Thursday night. They enjoyed it and Greer and mentioned they would like to return next year,” Williams said. He suggested to Weeks to add Greer as a designated dinner.
The merchants also enjoyed the car clubs visiting. Many members shopped downtown during their visit and created retail foot traffic rarely seen.
About 200 roadsters from over 21 states and Canada were registered last year. Other activities the car owners enjoyed were the BMW plant tours, Performance Center on Highway 101, mountain driving routes and a visit to a winery in North Carolina.
Williams and his wife, Erin, are members of the Z Series Car Club of America (ZSCCA). They were single roadster owners during ZFest this year with Erin owning a Z3.
Williams’ passion for the roadster convinced him to add a silver Z4 recently to their collection. “I found a higher horsepower 2004 with low mileage. However, I have driven it very little because Erin has parked her Z3 and has been driving mine,” Williams said with a laugh.
Williams said he’s never been a huge car enthusiast “until (BMW) started building roadsters.”
Trade Street will not be closed for the Thursday night dinner. Williams has applied for a downtown permit to block off Trade Street to accommodate the roadsters on Saturday.
The long motorcade of the Z3s and Z4s coming down Hwy. 14 South to Trade Street was a magnificent site and marketing opportunity for the Greater Greer Chamber of Commerce, located in the middle of Greer’s storied cuisine district.